Elianto baked eyeshadow duo in Brown

I've wanted to try Elianto's baked eyeshadows for a while now - they look so cute!

Unfortunately they're not as pigmented as I thought baked eyeshadows would be, even under a base.

There seems to be more shimmer than pigment in them. As you can also see in the picture above, there is barely any distinction between the lighter shade (used as lid color) and the darker shade (crease color). That, or maybe I blended too much?

herbench/ paint box colour palette in Show Girl

[Geeky side note: My new blog subtitle is TOTALLY NOT a Star Trek rip-off. NOT. 8D]

Today we have another one of bench's makeup palettes, one of which I already reviewed previously.

Show Girl consists of a bronzy-gold eyeshadow, a medium pink blush, and two bright glosses in fuchsia and red.

So, swatches!

Eyeshadow (without primer):

Blush:

Lip glosses (fuchsia on top, red on bottom, a layer of lip balm underneath):

And the whole look:

The end results are pretty subtle for a palette with such a flashy name, don't you think? But overall, I like Show Girl's colors better than Dainty Lass's.

My notes on the products:

• Eyeshadow: goes on smoothly, will most probably look more vibrant with primer underneath, and I really love the shade
• Lip glosses: somewhat drying (like the ones in Dainty Lass), look scary in the pan but are very very wearable
• Blush: decently pigmented, gives a nice flush of color

The blushes that come in the Show Girl and Dainty Lass palettes look quite similar but they're actually not. The Dainty Lass blush is much lighter and contains shimmers:

The Show Girl blush, in contrast, is warmer and has no shimmers:

Skin swatches (DL = left, SG = right):

They have one more palette, Earth Angel, but I think I'll pass on that. Too much brown, even for a neutrals girl like me!

Nichido Clear Mascara

I really don't like the feeling of mascara.

I think it all started way back during my prom, when I borrowed my mother's mascara, Estee Lauder's Magnascopic (a product which she has been using to this day).

It did make me look more awake, but I hated the goopy, clumpy feeling it gave my eyes. Needless to say, I refrained from using mascara from that point on.

Then I found out that clear mascara existed, and I figured it'd perk up my lashes without the added weight that colored mascaras seem to give.

I originally wanted ELF's clear mascara (since many of their products work well on me), but it was unavailable at the malls I went to. So, I got Nichido's version for P80.00 instead. Honestly, the product's consistency reminds me of hair gel. I suppose that's what clear mascara essentially is, though.

But it does manage to lift my lashes pretty well. And it feels weightless and non-goopy too.

in2it blush duo in 03 Symphony

I've already had this for a while, just haven't gotten around to reviewing it til now.

I think this was around P350.00, which is really nice because the colors are long lasting and the brush that comes with it is super soft. Other brands that carry blushes with brushes (like Maybelline and Revlon) charge more even though their brushes are super scratchy!

The darker shade kind of reminds me of NARS Orgasm and Benefit Coralista. I don't own those blushes (yet! haha), so could anyone who does confirm if we have a dupe right here?

(Note: the following pics were taken a couple of weeks before I got my hair cut.)

This is the lighter shade:

And this is the darker suspected-of-being-a-dupe-for-orgasm-or-coralista shade:

And just for fun, here are both shades layered over each other on both my cheeks:

Catch-up time! Awards etc!

This award was given to me ages ago by Cha from love affair <3. A big thank you to you, pretty! :D

You're supposed to share 6 interesting facts about yourself when given this award, so here goes:

1. I used to be scared of dinosaurs as a little kid. I think it was because my parents took me to a huge animatronic dinosaur exhibit somewhere in Manila, and I freaked out because of all the claws and huge teeth.
2. I hate riding in front of jeeps. They're so troublesome to get in and out of, especially if you're travelling in a skirt. One time I was riding in front and the sidemirror suddenly broke, spraying bits and pieces of glass all over my lap. Terrible. But in contrast...
3. I love riding trains. Yes, even our cramped MRTs. (I find that glaring works effectively to prevent people from invading your personal space nyahaha >:D) When I'm in another country, the trains are often the first things I want to see (and ride in). There's just something about train systems that shows you a close-up perspective of the country's culture. On Hong Kong's railways, you can leave your bag hanging open and not get anything stolen from it. In the New York subway, you can dye your hair pink and dress in all the spikes and leather you want and not get gawked at by people. Someday I hope to ride the London Tube and the Berlin U-Bahn too.
4. I'm currently addicted to Cafe World on Facebook. Would you believe I even employed the multiple stoves cheat just to be able to cook more on a measly Facebook game? LOL, some of you are probably thinking, "Who the hell cheats on a FACEBOOK game?!" but there you have it. I find Cafe World more fun and easier to play than Resto City because you don't need to spend half your time collecting silly ingredients.
5. I think the left side of my face is more photogenic than the right. Dunno why, I just do. Maybe it's because of the "left brain, right brain thing" psychologists and neurologists keep going on and on about?
6. I like dry, crispy adobo better than the regular "wet" kind. I'll still happily eat the latter, though.

And then not too long ago, Martha the BEAUTY JUNKEE gave me this award for having, I quote, a "hot blog layout"!

I'm glad you like my layout, sis! :D

And also, I got myself bangs!

I was getting tired of my old hair, so I decided it was time for a whole new look! I really like how it turned out, even though my blockmates teased me for looking like a little girl when they first saw the new 'do. XD

e.l.f. Brightening Eye Color in Blue Moon

Ondoy and Pepeng failed to sweep me away, but end-of-sem requirements did. But anyway, I'm baaack! I have quite a number of products backlogged already, I just haven't gotten around to posting them all!

This is the first of many posts about ELF's eyeshadow quads. I've recently gotten into eyeshadows and I super love these little things! They're uber cheap and come in beautiful safe-for-everyday colors - perfect for n00b experimenters like me!

Blue Moon is a predominantly blue quad with some neutrals thrown in. I got it because it seemed like an interesting combination.

The colors aren't too pigmented alone as you will see below, but they turn out alright if you use a primer of some sort underneath.

I did four looks with this quad. For the first one, I used the two blue colors primed with the lighter shade in ELF's cream shadow duo in Blueberry. For the second one, I used the two neutrals primed with the lighter shade in ELF's cream shadow duo in Mocha Swirl.

In retrospect, the second look ended up pretty lumpy. :|

For the third and fourth look, I used ELF's tone correcting concealer in tone 2 as the primer, and the lighter brown shade in the quad as the lid color. I used the darker brown and blue as crease colors.

Maybe I should have blended these more?

This quad was really fun to play with, but I think I should watch a few more Youtube tutorials to improve my blending and application skills. Heehee!

herbench/ paint box subtle glow powder in pink glow

I seem to have terrible luck with this sort of product. It appears it just isn't possible for me to find a good quality low-priced highlighting powder.

This bench product is a winner in terms of packaging,

and its texture and "shimmer power" seem to be excellent,

but it just doesn't deliver. Tell me, do you see anything in the swatch below?

Other than some VERY SLIGHT shimmers, there's really nothing else. :(

I remember another blog having a review for this, but I can't seem to find it anymore. Does anybody know where it is?

herbench/ paint box colour palette in Dainty Lass

Seems bench now has these handy dandy makeup palettes for convenient full-face touch-ups on-the-go.

The palette is done in the brand's signature flowery metallic pink style and comes with a generously sized mirror and two decently-performing applicators (although I suppose most of you girls carry separate portable makeup brushes already).

The palettes are roughly around PHP350.00 and come in three variants: Earth Angel, Show Girl and Dainty Lass, which I will be swatching today.

The Dainty Lass palette contains the stereotypically cutesy girly color combination of pink and purple: two pink glosses, one pink blush, and one sparkly purple eyeshadow. I honestly don't think pink and purple are cutesy girly at all, especially when paired with black.

Here's the eyeshadow:

(I thought it would look bad on me, but it surprisingly wasn't.)

Below are the two glosses. The darker pink is on my upper lip, the lighter pink is on my lower lip.

(You might want to wear lip balm or something similar underneath, though. The glosses are a bit drying.)

Here's the blush:

(I rather like the color, it seems like the shade in between Careline's Touch of Pink and Rosy Cheeks.)

And finally, this is how it looks like all put together:

I had fun playing with this - so much that I might even get the Show Girl palette!